Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!seismo!sundc!pitstop!sun!amdcad!ames!lll-lcc!ncis.llnl.gov!helios.ee.lbl.gov!nosc!humu!uhccux!lee From: lee@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu (Greg Lee) Newsgroups: comp.ai Subject: Re: Biological Categorization Message-ID: <3055@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu> Date: 25 Jan 89 16:33:37 GMT References: Organization: University of Hawaii Lines: 41 From article , by harnad@elbereth.rutgers.edu (Stevan Harnad): >... >The positivists were concerned with MEANING (especially the meaning of >scientific statements): What statements are and are not meaningful, and >in what does their meaning consist? I, on the other hand, am concerned >with categorization: ... I see, I think. You had said: " But their terms must " somehow be GROUNDED in observations, otherwise how is one to say " whether or not the categorization is "correct"? (In fact, how is one " otherwise even to know what the words mean? Unless grounded somehow " is something other than words, they are just meaningless strings " of symbols. ... which seemed to me to imply that one *does* know what words mean by virtue of their grounding in observations. Now, I know that you don't *intend* to be proposing a theory of meaning. And if there is really any difference between the problem of categorization and the problem of reference, then perhaps you're not. In regard to my implication concerning behaviorism, I'll remark further that I had in mind your remarks in other postings about a categorization being significant only in regard to its consequences. This seemed to me to be akin to the central role ascribed to reinforcement in that B-theory (with which I have certain sympathies, by the way). >... >So do you still think I'm a positivist? Ah, let me put it this way. I think that the strategy of converting some sophisticated varieties of philosophical empiricism into a psychological theory is an interesting and plausible move to make, whether or not that is exactly what you're doing. Just as converting ordinary language philosophy into linguistic theory has been a rewarding endeavor for linguists. Thanks for your detailed and very informative discussion. Greg, lee@uhccux.uhcc.hawaii.edu